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... Obama rationalized ... that ground zero mosque that they ... and wire chair Brahms pension benefits such a big secret ... welcome to Opinion Journal Live on Jason Riley ... their first to discuss the ground zero mosque the Bay is Opinion Journal editor James trot no welcome James said Jason GoodReader ... so James up with a huge step are telling us how many different positions the present paddles on the grounds or months ... well the answer is something traction ... like yesterday when its Rittenhouse position ... crazy gave a speech on Friday to a group of Muslims in the White House ... in which you with a stronger defence are the free ... freedom of religion as ... Coca ... Coca this was ... taken by people on both sides of the last debate to be an endorsement of the gas project because this is what the ... top all that's left is concerned were for freedom of religion ... people who are critical to Moscow against Republican but actually bought by this but ... I did ... and so the next day Obama said reporters why didn't say anything I'm not going to say about whether it's a good idea to build ... and then the White House put out another statement saying that he in fact was not backpedaling from statements on Friday ... I'd ... really all the stickers I see are consistent in the amount to buy these voting present ... OK ... now in addition the press that the US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ... also weighed into taking more ... of ... the defendant's stand here he said ... I they should build it and other plants to ... Boston which of course is what most of the opponent's the house is a very you know there's a fringe that says ... buildups illegal mosques anywhere near anything ... but most people say ... you know the idea of having a mosque two blocks from ground zero is just ... rubs people the wrong way it's offensive ... build it somewhere outside but that's what Reid said ... it's fascinating that the people who were attacking critics of the mosque last week saying that it's un-American proposed mosque in this place I've heard anyone say Harry Reid is the right ... to which tells you that a lot of this many mosques or the sprawl that stuff is really more bipartisanship ... in about a principle that ... that's why one to talk to the next I think reinstatement has put some Democratic and it's a difficult position here because ... ah up until now all of the Democratic talking points seem to be what's criticized Republicans for politicizing this issue ... and let's say it's a local issue for New Yorkers to decide for themselves ... read ... this that then the president ... has scrapped then to now I think reporters identity running the Democratic candidates ... and saying ... are you with the majority leader ... are you with the process ... and of course no one knows where the president is ... he voted present ... I you know this is really it's not some it hasn't been so much a political issue in terms of electoral politics has been more ... I did it as a ... tool with which sort of Cointreau leaders be to ... Americans over the head of analysis wonderful editorial the New York Times today ... which said I'd this mosque is all about bringing people together ... and that it criticized Obama for not pushing back harder ... right so that I would bring people together than in the city's pushbike or using the metaphor of physical assault ... right now he is so in other words they can persuade people to feel justified insulting and that's really what this is an assault on people's sensibilities to metaphorical soft is this a good issue for either side going into the November elections if this does become national looks like it well ... sense of the president has now ... weighed and ... aam ... who has an edge here ... going into the November election will get as much as politics is zero sum game is the first when Steinitz would help the others so in that sense I think it helps the Republicans fire reinforcing this idea that the Democrats are just ... out of touch mean something like seventy percent of people ... are ... opposed to this mosque when the rest divided in calls and people are ... more aware of it may work for thanks to the present rate before ... if I were running for Congress is Republican I would talk more about ... the economy ... and unemployment in the way Obama is nationalizing everything else other than the last debate that of all the things he's nationalize the slums of accidentally start up's there ... thanks for joining us it is ... next up to discuss the California governor's race as assistant Opinion Journal editor alicia family will leave ... so how did the ... governor's race between Republican Meg Whitman Democrat Jerry Brown ... turned into a dispute over Jerry Brown's pension benefits ... will ... I thinking how worrying that I this is really changing the cable routing that out when ... he ... does outsize pensions and liabilities for estates and that's causing this stage a lot of ... our liberal programs and service season ... the ten chain liability this year that the state was on hold was six point two billion that's expected to rise next year tenure in setting hanging ... as it's expected to be at least nine billion dollars every year for next thirty could be up to forty five billion dollars in business they already deep in the red ... this is a state with the ... da as chronic Daxas and in this year's twenty billion bid spinout Neo it's been similar amount at last there for you ... so ... apparently ... Jerry Brown was probably the attorney general ... on ... read the news report that a an official ... city manager well which is the city ... just outside of Los Angeles ... is making a hundred ... thousand Aletheia were the wrong business in China ... and all fight for pensions of about six hundred thousand dollars yet ... so Brown comes out ... criticizes this has many pension reform ... and the folks that well ... we'll make in terms of pension benefits Mr Brown right and I believe ... that sun comes up with additional seed's change thinks the Orange County Register which is really add spearheading the SEC investigation of what is Jerry Brown making a well made when he retires as attorney general or after if he wins in as governor after he Kim's governor ... and the ... to brown skinned he released the little ones needing one releasing any information see the Calpers its propriety a information we can tell you exactly how much ... and so they're able to nail connect the dots and a ... NHP ear that ... at that she would be at Nice Buick hang with ... one hundred thousand dollars and maybe a hundred twenty thousand dollars if they calculated how is ... it suppose the terror ... of course this is how Calpers hasn't spoken to go up as ... your Brown's opponent Meg Whitman been making the issue of this ... you know she's been making issued at four one he says and remain much of the nation Jerry Brown's pension but you can expect to see it when no one and has a presence that solution outrage over pensions and Californian Ali's officials earning ... nine thousand ... XP employees earning ... pensions over one thousand one hundred thousand yet know what's interesting is that Jerry Brown of course of the former ... mayor our former governor of the state of Hellebrand who between nineteen seventy five ... and nineteen eighty three ... he was the governor and he is the governor who allowed ... the public unions to collectively bargain ... which led to these are very generous ... of pension benefits for state workers ... um ... now he's wearing his time over former teacher in his her race for governor do you think the voters in a bottle ... I mean he created this monster he and his head in this in so-called Frankenstein whether they can rein in and control and that that's another matter ... I will skeptical considering how much he's in ... his campaign is being settling on this issue and I'm ... debating its ... III ... taking voters have a right to be skeptical to how much she's indeed even talk about his own hands ... well thank you for joining us with temperature ... like to thank both of our guests alicia family and James trot oh please join us tomorrow and every day at noon for Opinion Journal Live on Jason Riley ...